VISD School Board District 1 candidate: Jake Flores

May 1, 2011 at 12:01 a.m.

Editor's Note: Two seats on the Victoria School Board have challengers. To help readers learn more about the candidates, we conducted a question and answer session with each one. Today the candidates for District 1 speak. To read District 3 candidates comments see Sunday's Advocate.

Name: Jake Gonzalo Flores

Age: 18

City of residence: Victoria

Occupation: Dual credit student at Liberty Academy and Victoria College

Why will you make a good asset to the district as a member of the school board?

As a lifelong citizen of Victoria, I have a vested interest in the success of educational system. I began my educational journey in VISD and will finish in VISD. In doing so, I intend on taking the lessons I have learned from VISD and in return, give back. As a student and avid participant in the affairs of VISD, such as the VISD Leadership Team, I am able to express the key concerns of not only the students and faculty, but the community of Victoria as a whole.

What is the most serious issue facing the school board?

The most important issue facing the school board at this moment is the state budget cuts in the nearby future. Due to the fact that the state legislature has failed to act, as of yet, on the budget cuts, the school board will be facing budget work up until the beginning of the 2011-12 school year and after. Under the leadership of the superintendent, the school board will work its best to ensure the quality of VISD, no matter the outcome.

What are your ideas to handle the state's budget cuts to education, and how will you ensure students still maintain a quality education?

I personally feel that as a school district, we must take a closer look at key areas and decide what is essential and what can be down-sized or diminished. In doing so, the school board must work together to come up with a logical reasoning. The key way for our students to receive the education they so highly deserve is through rigorous, cultivating lessons that will impact them now, but also for the future. Through hands-on experience, a decent educator-student ratio, and well equipped educators, we can and will give these students the education that is necessary.